Brothers by the Alphabet
by Chatty Blue Kirby
Summary: A general helping of Alphabet Soup, Brothers style. All the little things of the story, delved in and with deeper meaning. Or something. Lots and lots of spoilers inside, so be warned!


Me: Oh my gosh I saw this game being played. I'd love to play it, except I can't. Anyway, I wish this game'd get more attention. It's probably the most beautiful game I've ever seen! As far as I know, this is the first Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons fanfiction that isn't a crossover. I hope you enjoy!

Oh, and a note. The brothers, actually, all the characters, don't have any official/canonical names. Keep note of this: the older brother is named Elden, and the younger brother is named Yun. Niya (Elden) and Nayi (Yun) are respective brother titles. Araca is the lady who killed Elden in the end. Got that? Okay! Have fun!

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A- Alone

Yun buried his face in his gloved hands. He was alone now, a long way from home, nobody around, his only brother dead. Never before had he felt so afraid and alone. How was he to get back to his father without Elden? His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Elden's. Their eyes met, and in sync, they pulled each other into a hug. Maybe Elden was dead, but that doesn't mean Yun was alone.

B- Blood

Yun didn't know he was hemophobic until they reached the field of dead giants. He could barely step in any of the bloody rivers without blanching and needing his brother's hand to pull him gently along. It wasn't any better when they chopped off a leg or headshot a giant. Both times, Elden instinctively covered the mop-headed boy's eyes, albeit in vain. Then came the bloodfalls. It took a lot of persuasion from Elden to get Yun to get under both of them. Yun trusted Elden when he said they'll immediately get clean, though he still had a lot of dry-heaving afterwards.

C- Cry

Yun had never cried harder, save for when their mother died. He was scared, he was weak, and felt absolutely helpless. He hated being so weak and scared and helpless. He hated feeling tears stream down his cheeks. He hated feeling so pathetic. He hated this feeling. He hated crying.

It reminded him just how useless he was all alone.

D- Depression

Seeing the graves everyday, watching his father grovel to both of them, and spending the days in loneliness is enough for Yun to spiral into depression. He cried and cried and cried, not wanting to see anybody save for his father. He was only 11, and he had to deal with two precious family members dying right in front of him, only him to see them one last time before they were gone forever.

But of course eventually he was able to adjust. Eventually the tears stopped. The sadness remained, though. He still visited the graves, and couldn't leave without feeling a little hollow on the inside, a little pain inside. Some days were harder to look at than others.

Have you ever been so sad you couldn't cry?

E- Embrace

Yun visited both his mother and brother's grave every day. As he hugged his knees and buried his face in them, he wanted to imagine Elden's warm embrace. He could remember the last hug Elden had given him spirit, and he wanted another more than anything. He regretted remarking how mushy and gross it was to get a brotherly hug whenever Elden gave one to him against his will. He missed it more than he realized.

F- Fault

_It's my fault momma drowned. If only I had held on tighter. If only I had been stronger._

_It's my fault Niya's dead. If I had convinced him to not trust Araca. If I had just been quicker to get the medicine._

_It's all my fault..._

G- Griffin

The Griffin's wing enveloped Yun in a full hug, embracing him in warmth. Yun pulled away in a few moments, then looked back at his brother's grave. He wiped a few tears from his eye. The Griffin softly called to him, and ushered him towards her back with her gentle wing.

_I know this is hard for you Yun... I understand... But it is time to move on. Your father, your mother, your brother. They are all counting on you._

H- Helpless

You'd think Yun was always the one to be helpless, and that Elden was always the one to be the one to help him. No, there were plentiful times Elden was helpless. Wouldn't you feel helpless if you thought your only brother, the one you swore to look after and your closest friend, had drowned? Wouldn't you feel helpless if you thought you were too late? Wouldn't you feel helpless being stuck on the ground, having a deranged spider lady trying to pry your guts open, only hoping your brother would save you?

That's not even the worst thing. Wouldn't you feel helpless if you knew you were slowly dying, asking yourself if your little brother would make it home okay without you? Wouldn't you feel helpless, bleeding to death, fighting to stay alive, only to find yourself getting more and more tired? Until finally, you silently and hopelessly apologize to your brother, thinking you failed him, wishing you could still help him?

Surely you would feel helpless too as you limply laid on the ground, vision fading and one last cold breath escaping you.

I- Immature

Yun was, without saying, the immature brother. He'd balance brooms on his hand instead of dusting dirt off the lawn, spit into wells, prank others by drenching them with water or covering them in flour. The list went on and on.

It was Elden's job to make sure Yun was growing up right. Every time Yun did something wrong or immature, Elden would take him away and give a stern talking to.

Yun would roll his eyes as his brother talked, but for the most part he listened. Then about a week later he'd get back to his shenanigans.

After the journey, however...

J- Jealous

Yun rolled his eyes at Elden's dopey face after Araca kissed his cheek. What's wrong with him? Great. Now he won't pay any attention to Yun. Now it's all about her, and now she has ALL his attention. And now Yun was left behind in the dust as Elden ran off to get closer to that oh-so talented and beautiful lady...

K- Kindred

Elden and Yun, Niya and Nayi. They were different, both physicslly and mentally. One was tall, strong, level-headed, and polite. The other was lanky, agile, fun-loving, and mischievous.

But even with these differences, they were good brothers to each other. They were of each other's kindred, bonded together tighter than any other siblings.

L- Lucky

You could say it's pure luck that the two brothers survived some parts of their journey. It's luck Yun didn't drown in the dangerous river rapids when he was separated from Elden. It's luck he managed to hang onto a cliff instead of fall down another waterfall. It's luck that they managed to make it to the stone tower before the flying machine completely broke down. It's luck the Griffin found Yun at the medicine tree and took him home.

Were they really all that lucky, though?

M- Music

Yun rhythmically strummed the harpist's harp, earning applause from the old man. Elden rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, being teased for his lack of musical talent a few moments ago. He had to admit though, Yun was pretty good for someone who'd never played before. Maybe he'd grow up to be a professional, and Elden could hear his delightful tunes every once in a while once they got home.

N- Nightmare

The younger brother checked his unconscious father's body. No pulse, no signs of breathing. He called to Elden. Suddenly, the older brother gripped Yun by the shoulder and pushed him to the ground. Yun couldn't move or fight against his grasp as he felt hard blows to the face, then Elden's firm hands strangling his throat. Nasty, hurtful words and threats poured out the older brother, ringing in Yun's ears.

When Yun woke up, he couldn't help but cry into Elden's chest in fear, with the latter saying soothing words and assuring it was nothing but a meaningless nightmare.

O- Optimistic

Whenever things looked bleak, Elden told Yun to look on the bright side. He'd say that every single thing in life had both a good and a bad side. But what was good in having someone die?

_You got stronger, Nayi. You really did. And I'm proud._

P- Piggyback

At one point, Yun was so tired he kept asking to take a rest. When Elden finally agreed, Yun flopped onto the ground and fell asleep. Elden figured they had to hurry, and Yun was too tired, so he wrapped Yun's arms around his neck and hoisted the younger brother onto his back. Elden's hands held Yun's legs from underneath and continued on their way. He struggled a little carrying the tween on his back, but if his brother was THAT tired... Seriously though, how much did this kid weigh? Soon enough, Elden got used to the weight and continued on without as much trouble.

Yun opened his eye sneakily, and smirked ever so slightly, congratulating himself for his well-executed plan.

Q- Questions

_Are we there yet? How much longer? Is there any food around? How're we getting back home anyway? Are you sure you know where we're going? What do I do now? Can I ride on your back? Hey, what's that? So where DO babies come from? Oh... Niya, are you okay? Why're you holding your head like that?_

_Do you have a headache or something?_

R- Rain

Back home, Yun would pull Elden outside and they would run around in the rain and splash in mud puddles together. They didn't care they had to do their own laundry afterwards, or the fact they'd more than likely get sick the next day.

This rain that poured on Yun wasn't that kind of rain. It was the somber kind of rain that was fitting to depression. It was the kind that poured on days that someone important to you died, like when their mother died, for instance.

S- Spider

Ever since the end of the journey, Yun would crush every spider he saw into the ground. He was both afraid and furious at the eight-legged little monsters. He didn't care if the other villagers called it overreacting. He didn't care if he got funny looks or if it was overkill. A spider took away his brother, and he was returning the favor.

T- Tree

It was the most beautiful tree both brothers had seen. Pure white leaves and long, twisted branches arcing. They'd reached their destination, their final destination. It was where the Water of Life was, their ultimate goal.

Months later, the Griffin looked down from her nest in the trees. Her sharp eyes spied a young sapling emerging from a mound of dirt, just a distance away from the tree.

U- Underwater

Elden stroked harder and harder, his lungs strangling him on the inside as he dove deeper after Yun's limp-looking body. He could barely see bubbles of air rapidly leaving Yun's nose. Elden reached out, knowing his brother was almost out of time. He himself was getting lightheaded, but he wasn't coming back up without Yun.

V- Village

Both Elden and Yun had a reputation in their village.

Yun was known for messing around, occasionally playing a prank on some unlucky soul. He was also known for getting along really well with the animals, and of course for his astounding harp-playing skills.

Elden was known for his selflessness, stopping whatever he's doing to help out around the neighborhood. He doesn't exactly have a good reputation with animals. At least a few girls liked him, though he was pretty awkward around a few of them. And of course, there's his reputation of having to take Yun by the arm whenever he got in trouble, and apologizing to whoever got pranked.

W- Waking

No matter how much of the Water of Life trickled down Elden's throat, he wouldn't wake up. His eyes wouldn't open, his breath wouldn't come back. He was still, skin pale and cold. Yun pressed his face against his brother's chest, wishing he would wake up. He didn't, and he wouldn't ever again.

X- Xenophobic (A/N: Work with me, here, there's not a lot of x words that are easy to use here.)

Elden was a little xenophobic, wary at strangers from elsewhere. Scratch that. He was wary around most strangers. He always stood in front of Yun and let him stay there whenever they approached somebody suspicious. He was careful, and he wouldn't want to be with anybody who seemed very unnatural.

Y- Yell

"Get away from him!" Yun felt Elden's hands drag his shoulders to the side.

"You worthless-" BIFF "-stupid little-" BAM "-USELESS PIECE OF TRASH!"

Elden's firm hands wrapped themselves on Yun's throat.

"YOU PATHETIC NO-BRAINED IDIOT!"

"N-NIYA!"

"WASTE OF SPACE! YOU UGLY TRAMP! YOU'RE JUST A MISTAKE AND A DISASTER!"

"N-N-Niya!..."

"NOTHING! YOU'RE A GOOD FOR NOTHING! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT TROUBLE AND A BURDEN! CAN'T YOU JUST DIE ALREADY SO WE CAN BE HAPPY?!"

Tears welled up in Yun's eyes.

"Ni...ya!"

Z- Zero

How many days have gone by without Yun visited the graves and told both of them that he loved them? How many days have gone by without him imagining his family as a whole? How many days have gone without him wishing he could have done something? And how many times has he gone without being reminded that it's all okay, and that it was never his fault?

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Me: I know they're not the best... That's all. :I Ignore the fact "Y" had actual quotation marks and everything other part where someone was saying something was italicized. Just imagine anything italicized is either a thought or a telepathic message. Please review! It makes me very happy! And if you want to see more Brothers fanfiction, lemme know and let's see if anything comes up!~


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